When I saw the sign on the side of highway advertising a Live Nativity, I was instantly interested.  I’ve never seen one and thought it would be a great experience for the kids.  When talking to a friend I found out more details and made plans to bring them.  It was a simple production, put on by a small community church on a cold winter’s night on the side of a busy highway.   Not many were in attendance.  It reminded me a lot of that night in Bethlehem.  Few stopped then either. 

^{Luke 2: 1-14:}

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

After watching the live nativity, we were invited in for hot cocoa, popcorn and cookies.  Things were wrapping up, I figured we’d be on our way, and then they were calling the cast out to do the next performance.  My kids jumped up, eager to hear it again.  Scott and I looked at each other, smiled, and followed them back out in the cold. 

We decorated our gingerbread house this weekend…before Christmas this year—astonishing, I know.

The big 3 had a fabulous time.

Unfortunately, our youngest found the experience quite confusing and a tad frustrating.  “Why, oh why, aren’t they letting me eat that candy?”

I might have snuck the lil guy a few pieces of candy while they were busy working.

The kids were quite proud of their work.  And I have to agree.. it is most definitely the best looking one they’ve ever done. 

Of course the competitive and ahem, humble, little circus crew they are, they declared that “our house is so good, if we entered it in a competition it would surely win.”     Yea… we’ll spend some time working on humility over the holiday season.

Christmas is without a doubt my favorite time of year.  I’ve already shared in my last post how I love all the things about Christmas.  And I do, even the shopping, baking, prepping for company… I love it all.  In fact when Christmas actually gets here I am always a little sad, because truth be told I love the season, the anticipation, the preparation so much that I am sad to see it end when the actual day of Christmas arrives.

But, the thing I love most about this time of year is the carols.  I love, love the words of those familiar carols, but what I really love is the fact that I can be at the grocery store, or the mall and I can hear the name of Jesus praised.   What other time of year can you hear songs proclaiming “glory to the newborn King”  while waiting in line at Best Buy?  I love it!! 

This past Saturday we took the kids into Baltimore for some family fun.  I had read about this thing called Tuba Christmas… and I thought “hmmm 200 tubas playing Christmas music in Inner Harbor Baltimore, sounds fun”  but I had no idea just how wonderful it would be….

The weather was perfect… sunny and 50 degrees… so great to have a slight chill in the air but still be comfortable with winter jackets on.   We were able to score great seats right up front.   (thanks to some generous people for letting the big 3 sit literally right up front)

When the tubas started playing it was quite a sound.

But, the best part for me was the conductor.  He chose mostly all Christmas carols and he would have the tubas play the song one time through and then during the second time through he invited the audience to sing along.  Tears filled my eyes as I belted out “O Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Lord”  in the middle of the bustling harbor.  What a privilege, what a joy to proclaim the name of Jesus.    It’s a moment I will most definitely be bottling up and savoring in my heart.  A true treasure for me this Christmas.

Love choosing and cutting down our tree…

Love decorating it and passing on the memories to my children of the precious ornaments hung on our tree…

Love the wonder of the lights…

Love watching them play with toys that only come out once a year…

Love seeing them act out the story of Christ’s birth as they play with their nativity sets

And this year I love listening to the sounds of Christmas carols fill the house as my son plays them on the piano

It really is, the most wonderful time of the year.

This year I decided to follow the example of other friends on face book and post something each day on my status that I was thankful for.  It was a really fun way to stop and focus on giving thanks each day.  I decided to cut and paste my status updates into a blog post for today so I could record these to look back on later.  Here they are starting with today and going backwards to the beginning of November….

Today I am thankful for each of my children and their unique personalities.  I am so thankful for the privilege of being their Mommy.

Today I am thankful for toothless grins and visits from the tooth fairy. My 5 yr old lost her first tooth tonight

I am thankful for my Mom and Dad… for their love for each other and my brother and I as well as our spouses and children. I know I am one of the lucky ones and I truly am grateful for the relationship I have with both of them as well as the relationships they have with my children

I am thankful for friends (young and old) and the chance to spend time with them!

I am thankful for a really wonderful weekend: start to finish!

Thankful for a really, really good Saturday… perfect blend of productivity and family fun…

I am thankful for friends who feel like family and the chance to spend time with them last night.

Today I am thankful for the numerous everyday conveniences which
make my life so much easier and enjoyable and for which I too often take
for granted

I am thankful for 1. rain boots b/c they give me a reason to smile on a rainy day.

I am thankful for harvest parties and  reunions with friends as well as  a flexible baby which makes enjoying those things much more doable.

Today I am thankful for coffee… what a wonderful way to start the day, especially ones that start earlier than I’d like.

Today I am thankful for a surprisingly warm Nov day and the opportunity for a spontaneous trip to the park with my youngest two.

Today I am thankful for a weekend spent playing with cousins of all ages!

Today I am thankful for the privilege of knowing and loving Scott’s Grandpa…as we celebrated his life this morning and the fact that we know he’s in heaven, I couldn’t help but weep b/c I miss him. He was a true gentleman and a GREAT grandpa and I am so sorry we had to say goodbye.

Today I am thankful for our public library system. What a blessing to be able to take my kids to story time at the library, to have so many wonderful reading resources available (and even set aside on our hold shelf if we want them) and all at no cost to me (well, most of the time anyway). I love our local library!

Today I am thankful to live in an area that experiences all 4 seasons and for the beauty of the fall foliage every where I look.

Today I am thankful that when I got my flat tire it was: 1. on a day when I had left a booster seat at the tutorial in the morning b. on a day when a friend had just called me and volunteered to drive my kids home from tutorial for me c. it was on the shoulder of a road just around the corner from my house and d. when I was walking with my baby in my arms and my 4 yr old crying on the side of the road my sweet friends  drove by and offered to drive us the rest of the way home. God is good!!

I am thankful for  my husband and his willingness to help me out in the mornings, without his presence and help our mornings are much more grumpy and harried.

Today I am grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to be a soccer mom. I truly enjoy standing on the sidelines cheering my kids on!!

Today I am thankful for a quiet and lazy Friday afternoon…. followed by breakfast for dinner and a family movie night after soccer practice!

I am thankful for our home school tutorial. I am thankful for the community of friends the kids and I have there. I am thankful for the accountability and encouragement it provides for me as I home school. It has provided the best of both worlds for our family in our schooling experience.

I am thankful that I got to spend the day with my SIL  and my two nephews!

I am thankful that today I got to actually watch part of the girls gymnastics practices (seems so often I am chasing siblings). I am so proud of both of them and it brings me such joy to watch them. They are learning and growing tons and loving every minute. What a blessing that is to me as their mom! I actually cheered out loud in the waiting room today when I saw my 5 year old do a cart wheel on the beam!

Our oldest daughter had a little fun getting into her character for Halloween.  When posing for pictures in their costumes, she decided to  fully act out the part of Snow White.

I think my favorite part of the reenactment was when she asked us to take her picture sleeping with the apple. "Skip the ol posing by the door with the trick or treat basket, we’ll go for playing dead on the floor with an apple.”

Then she was awakened with a kiss from her prince.

“Thanks Dad for being my prince,” she exclaimed.

Oh sweet girl, there’s nothing he’d like more than to be your prince forever.

Excuse me while I go blubber in the corner as I think about this picture one day popping up on the screen during a video montage at her rehearsal dinner… can’t you just stay our little girl forever? 

flag day

Noun:

1.  June 14, the anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official US flag in 1777.

2.  Justification for purchasing those fun patriotic outfits and crafts b/c “It’s not just for the 4th of July you can use them on Flag Day too”.

The kids enjoyed making their own American Flags out of ribbon.  They will serve as a great patriotic decoration in our home through the 4th of July.

Flag Day Lasagna: inspired from Family Fun magazine

A super big shout of of thanks goes to Miss Jen for making these adorable coordinating patriotic dresses!!

Dress up Ice Cream Sandwiches by rolling them in coordinating sprinkles.  Idea taken from Family Fun again.  But, I skipped the popsicle sticks and let the kids dip their own.  This was super easy and could be easily adapted to any holiday… hmmm black and gold Sprinkles for Steelers games anyone?

This has got to go down as my favorite flag day celebration yet… flag day with friends is definitely the way to go in my book! 

Before having kids, I used to go to my local Hallmark store and browse the selection of cards.  It seemed there was always SOMEONE who could benefit from a little Hallmark cheer.  I love cards.  LOVE them… and prior to having kids I was pretty good about buying and sending them.

Somehow though bringing 2, then 3, now 4 active kids into a card store lost its appeal… something about them reaching out of their strollers and pulling card after card onto the floor while I was trying to find that perfect card made it loose its charm. 

Gone are the days I peruse the card store for fun. 

Now I seem to avoid it at all costs. 

Yesterday as my children eagerly accosted me with their cards, I had an epiphany.  Mothers have been saying it for years, but ya know as a kid, you never fully believe them. 

Hallmark no longer has the market on the very best cards. 

Nothing, and I mean, N-O-T-H-I-N-G holds a candle to a hand written card from your child. 

The love just oozes off of the crayon filled pages.  And the presentation?  Presentation really is everything… As they eagerly scrambled onto my bed each of the pushing their pictures and cards closer to my face and telling me in their excited voices all about the pictures they drew, I knew I couldn’t feel more loved and cherished.   I could tell with their enthusiasm how hard they worked to make a picture for me.  I knew that their cards more wore than scribbles on a page… they poured themselves into those pieces of art.

From my 3 yr old:

From my 5 yr old:

From my 7 yr old:

And while my almost 1 year old didn’t give me a card, he did crawl across my bed and onto my lap with a huge smile on his face.  So, I felt the love.

Breakfast in bed and dinner out were both very nice, but my favorite part of the day was when my kids bounded into my room and smothered me with their handwritten pictures.  They truly cared to give me the very best…a piece of themselves.

I asked Scott to explain Pi to the kids yesterday as we ate our Chicken Pot Pie in celebration of Pi day (3/14).  I knew he would do a better job than I, as I would have probably just showed them the symbol and told them it equaled 3.14

Because folks, that pretty much sums up what I know about Pi.

He however drew them a picture of a circle, taught them about diameter and then went on to tell them that you need a little (.14 to be exact) over three strings the width of a circle to make it all the way around the circle.  And that special name for the exact number of strings you would need is called Pi.

In actuality I am sure our eating pie for dinner while having this discussion only served to further confuse them, but it is my goal that years from now when they learn about Pi in middle school some sort of light bulb will click in their brains and they will say, “Oh, I get it, that’s why mom always served pie to us on the 14th of March!” 

And I am pretty sure I will not be the one teaching them when that light bulb goes off b/c the thought of trying to explain Pi to someone makes my head hurt and scares the bejeebers out of me. 

To be honest, I had no idea that cool fact about the diameter and the distance around the circle.   In fact as we went to bed last night I asked Scott, “So what is πr²?  (Secretly I was kinda proud of myself for even being able to recall that mathematical sequence even though I can recall nothing about what that equation equals)

And as he went on to explain it to me, my brain got all fuzzy like it typically does when in times like these.  I hear the words that are being said but no matter how much I focus on them, I am still not fully comprehending what they mean.  And don’t even think of asking me to explain it back to you.

Which, of course, sent me into a kind of depressing little panic attack as I realized there is NO WAY I can home school our kids past elementary school.  I always kinda thought, well perhaps if things were going well, we could think about middle school when we get to middle school.  Sure, there is lots I don’t know or remember but it will be kinda fun to relearn those things with my kids. ha ha… geography and world history maybe, but math is a whole other can of worms….

And so,  today, I was so grateful to have Pi behind us as we tackled counting by twos and double digit subtraction…an area I felt much more competent in.

You know me, I love a holiday.  A reason to make a fun meal or dessert, perhaps a craft or two.

This year I started getting excited about St Patty’s Day months in advance.  I found an Auntie Anne Home Pretzel Kit at BJs and bought it for March 17th… Shamrock Pretzels and Mint Choc Chip Milkshakes sounds like the PERFECT St Patty’s Day lunch to me!  In all of my excitement, I even asked my Father in Law 2 months ahead of time if he’d babysit for us on the evening of March 17th.  I thought it would be fun for Scott and I to wear green and hit an Irish Pub in Annapolis for some live Celtic music, and some authentic cuisine. 

As March 17th approached, I eagerly pulled out the circular in the paper listing all the pubs and all of their festivities.

And that’s when it hit me.  We can’t go to a pub on St. Patties Day!   The real St Patty’s Day isn’t just about wearing green, making Soda Bread and drinking a beer or two.

Every single event in the paper was talking about the pubs opening early (like noon) for people to pack in and party.  As I read event after event, I suddenly realized…

St Patrick’s Day is a drinking holiday! 

Apparently, I have been living under a leprechaun shell all my life.   I mean I knew about the green beer and all and figured we’d get a Killians or Guinness or something, but crowding into a pub with hundreds of people that have been drinking since noon was not what I had in mind.   Time to rethink the plans…